Dead Awake(2017)

Plot Summary

• Troubled by regular bouts of sleep paralysis during which a demonic hag terrorizes her, Beth Bowman is initially upset to discover that her boyfriend Evan invited her twin sister Kate to a surprise birthday party. However, the two estranged sisters briefly reconnect over dancing. Prompted by conversation started by her friend Linda Noble, Beth abruptly leaves the party after chilling the mood by mentioning her sleep paralysis.The next day, Beth visits Kate and tells her more about the feeling of being strangled in her sleep. Together, they visit sleep disorder expert Dr. Sykes, who reassures them that sleep paralysis is not physically harmful.That night, Kate has a nightmare seen through her sister's eyes in which Beth is terrorized while paralyzed. Kate calls her parents Dave and Claire, who share their house with Beth, with a frantic warning. Mr. Bowman finds Beth dead in her bed.Hassan Davies, another sleep disorder doctor who was treating Beth, introduces himself to Kate at Beth's funeral. Kate temporarily moves in with her parents.Kate asks Evan about Beth's sleep disorder. Evan leads Kate back to Dr. Sykes, who dismisses Hassan's radical theories on sleep paralysis as having no basis in science. Kate discovers Dr. Sykes is also treating Beth's friend Linda.Kate contacts Hassan. Hassan tells her the history of sleep paralysis and demonic strangulation, also known as "The Old Hag Syndrome." Hassan warns that Kate is now in danger because she has seen the demon for herself.Kate nearly drowns when she experiences sleep paralysis in the bathtub. Kate calls Linda to ask if she also has visions of someone in the room with her while paralyzed, but Linda refuses to answer.Kate returns to Evan to tell him about her paralysis encounter. The two of them briefly research Dr. Hassan Davies before falling asleep on Evan's couches. Evan has a nightmare during which Kate becomes the hag and strangles him. In the morning, Evan says nothing about the nightmare to Kate.Kate goes back to her parents, who express their worry for her. Linda calls Kate to open up more about her sleep paralysis experiences. The two women visit Dr. Sykes to ask about the sitting ghost. However, Sykes only reasserts her previous claims, ultimately swaying Linda back under her influence.Kate returns to Evan's loft and finds Evan painting an image of the demonic hag he encountered. Kate and Evan do more online research and find video diaries recorded by John Pang in Austin, Texas. Pang's videos end after he suggests he may have a way to combat the sleep paralysis demon. Unable to contact Pang by phone, Kate suggests that she and Evan collect Linda in the morning and visit Pang in person.Fears of her husband Daryl being unfaithful cause Linda to have another sleep paralysis nightmare. Daryl comes home from work late and discovers Linda dead.Kate arrives at Linda's in the morning. Dr. Sykes answers the door for Daryl, and infers that Kate is partly responsible for Linda's fate for encouraging ideas about something supernatural.After briefly visiting Hassan, Kate and Evan drive to Austin. They visit John Pang, but discover he has been driven mad after intentionally depriving himself of sleep for over a year.Kate and Evan return to Hassan, who reveals that he has not had a full night's sleep in four months because of his own sleep paralysis experiences. Hassan theorizes that the hag exists in a space where dreams and reality meet. Hassan further suggests that he might be able to weaken a person's connection to the sleep demon by administering an adrenaline shot before a victim is fully strangled in his/her nightmare.Hassan and Evan monitor Kate while she sleeps. Despite a close call, the men successfully administer the adrenaline when they see signs of Kate being strangled. Hassan prepares to repeat the process for Evan until Kate realizes she left Hassan's sleep demon research with her parents. Fearing that her parents could fall victim to the demon by believing in it, Kate and Evan race to the Bowman house.After verifying that Dave and Claire are safe, Kate and Evan go back to Evan's loft. While Kate showers, Evan falls asleep and enters a coma after a nightmare encounter with the hag.Hassan reminds Kate that although they weakened the demon's connection with the adrenaline shot, Kate still has to face the hag on her own to fully defeat her. Hassan monitors Kate while she sleeps again. When his infusion pump machine fails during the session, Hassan anesthetizes himself to enter a dream state and rescue Kate. Hassan dies.In her nightmare, Kate encounters a demonic vision of Beth. After an accusatory confrontation, Kate stabs Beth, who turns into the hag. Kate continues stabbing the demon before strangling her to death.Kate records a video diary with an update that Evan's condition is improving. Kate also says that she has begun experiencing paralysis again, but has not encountered the hag. Kate vows to continue Hassan's research before concluding her video with a warning to viewers about believing in the demon.During an unexpected bout of sleep paralysis in her apartment, Dr. Sykes encounters the night hag.

Storyline

• Kate Bowman (Jocelin Donahue) is an average social worker who is investigating the mysterious deaths of people in their sleep. Shortly before their deaths, the victims all reported a supernatural force that appeared to them while they were suffering from sleep-paralysis. When Kate investigates further into the case, she opens herself up to the creature's wrath, and soon finds herself, and her family suffering from an ancient evil. — jman